Valve amp enthusiasts?

Jonny69 · 21-12-2011, 19:24

The "Imagine it's 1996/97...........there was no internet" thread on OcUK got me thinking. I used to do a lot of things before the internet, which I don't do now, and one of them was building home hi-fi and PA equipment. I built a stereo Maplin Millennium valve amp in 1996, which is a pair of EL34 valves in push-pull like the old Mullard amps. I ran it for a year or so until the mains transformer blew and replaced it in my final year at university. It eventually blew again and I couldn't get a new transformer because Maplin discontinued them, so it has sat on the sideboard at home ever since.

A couple of years ago I noticed the guy who originally designed the Millennium amp had a website so I contacted him about it. He basically said the original spec was downgraded by Maplin to save money and the transformer was only powerful enough to supply a mono amplifier. I'd been driving a stereo pair which was constantly overloading it, hence it kept blowing. He did however have some proper spec ones. I didn't buy one at the time, but I returned today to find he's got a Paypal plugin and so I ordered away...

Here is the amp and in a couple of weeks I'll be able to get it up and running again, just like the old days...

21-12-2011, 19:24	#1
Jonny69 Noob Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Socialist Republik of Kent Posts: 5,032	Valve amp enthusiasts? The "Imagine it's 1996/97...........there was no internet" thread on OcUK got me thinking. I used to do a lot of things before the internet, which I don't do now, and one of them was building home hi-fi and PA equipment. I built a stereo Maplin Millennium valve amp in 1996, which is a pair of EL34 valves in push-pull like the old Mullard amps. I ran it for a year or so until the mains transformer blew and replaced it in my final year at university. It eventually blew again and I couldn't get a new transformer because Maplin discontinued them, so it has sat on the sideboard at home ever since. A couple of years ago I noticed the guy who originally designed the Millennium amp had a website so I contacted him about it. He basically said the original spec was downgraded by Maplin to save money and the transformer was only powerful enough to supply a mono amplifier. I'd been driving a stereo pair which was constantly overloading it, hence it kept blowing. He did however have some proper spec ones. I didn't buy one at the time, but I returned today to find he's got a Paypal plugin and so I ordered away... Here is the amp and in a couple of weeks I'll be able to get it up and running again, just like the old days... __________________ Last edited by Jonny69; 04-02-2012 at 22:34.